What a summer it’s been!
I swear to you that I’ve written this post at least 15 times in my head over the past few weeks, updating it as new things have happened and trying to pull seconds out of free minutes to put pen to paper (or cursor to screen, if you will). I’ve thought around how to communicate months of happenings in a single post, giving words and light to all of our experiences over the past couple of months, and I think I’ve finally surrendered to the fact that playing catch up can sometimes be much simpler in the end than the knots I may tie myself into while thinking it through it all.
Abundance
We are, in fact, harvesting, selling, and preserving ourselves into the frenzy I believed we would, but at a level I couldn’t imagine until now.
The abundance of apples, peaches
What isn’t being sold or eaten is being dehydrated, frozen, or canned as quickly as possible in an effort to waste not a single morsel. However, if I’m being honest, there are plenty of apples that have fallen to the ground ahead of our harvests which have happily fed the goats and poultry despite our best efforts.
Beyond the fruit abundance, my little herb garden grew so prolifically this summer that I am harvesting and drying/infusing to my hearts content! I have such an abundance of some herbs I’m even contemplating making a few tea blends and as many salves as possible to give away as gifts and maybe even sell bit on my grossly ignored Etsy shop.
Who knows, maybe we’ll make up a few batches of goats milk soap again!?
Drought Diaries
A couple of months ago, before the monsoons kicked in, a colleague of mine asked me to contribute to a series called The Drought Diaries, pulled together by the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union to document how the drought in the southwest was directly impacting local farmers. Honored and overwhelmed, it took a bit of prodding on her part to get the piece written, but alas, it was (in large part thanks to a fever-filled illness that made me stay home in my PJs for a day instead of heading in to work or running around the property).
My piece can be found here is you’d like to check it out. Just scroll down a bit on the page until you see the photo of Ember and I (and a baby goat on my back).
Despite the terrifyingly dry beginnings to the growing season, we’ve found the little micro-climate we now sit in to be extraordinarily wet this year, for which we are incredibly grateful.
The acequia never went dry, as we feared, and when the rains came, they came steadily and deeply. We probably could have grown a ridiculous amount of food on the fields had we had the foresight and wherewithal. Alas, we had neither. Which is probably just fine seeing as how we can hardly keep up with the berries and trees this year as it is.
Growing like weeds
The animals, as they do, have continued to breed, eat, and grow like only animals can.
The turkeys are now ginormous and completely gorgeous. I’m super happy with the Blue Slates we’re growing out this year and am still thinking that keeping a tom and two hens on the farm year round might just be a good idea 😉
We’ve experienced our first poultry hatched on the property in the form of nine perfect Muscovy ducklings and are waiting on a second batch to hatch any day now (to a second mama).
Ember is, of course, growing in leaps and bounds of her own. Almost five, she began the equivalent of Kindergarten this year and I’m not sure how she’s grown from my tiny baby into a Kindergartner in the blink of an eye!
Whip sharp, sweet as pie, and stubborn as all get-out, she continues to keeps us on our toes fully in the present moment and grateful for all the lessons she brings us daily.
The does are almost ready for breeding season (though I’m not sure I am) and we are hot on the hunt for a buck to breed our middle girls to (Marilyn, Thumbalina, and Lila).
We’re excited to diversify our small herd and super excited to see how these middle girls freshen. I’m hopeful for good mamas, full udders, and awesome teets. But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself there, aren’t I? 😉
The closing of a chapter
While we have a three year commitment to this abundant property we are currently care taking, one of the biggest hurdles to our dream of owning our very own farm has officially been removed and we couldn’t be happier!
Yes, believe it or not, we sold our 1/8 acre urban farm!
After years of being reluctant landlords, the market turned around, we did some work, put it up, crossed our fingers, got an offer, navigated the sale (with just a couple of bumps in the road), and finally signed the closing docs last week.
While we are so excited for the new family and truly hope they love our old home as much as we did, we are no longer
The closing of this profound chapter in our lives (and on this path) are allowing us to pay down some debt, establish some savings, and breathe a bit easier as we open our hearts and minds to what we really want to do and how to get there.
Beyond the farm
Believe it or not, there is so much life happening beyond the farm due to some strategic and very intentional planning.
See, with all the hustle and bustle of chasing our farm dreams, we started losing a bit of ourselves and each other (which is absolutely unacceptable). And so, we decided to focus on having a bit of fun this summer while doing our best to hold down the farm.
I was able to sneak away and visit my very best friend in Wisconsin this summer where we enjoyed tea-filled mornings as well as afternoons and evenings filled with music at SummerFest! with Jonny Lang, Kaleo, and Dave Matthews Band being the highlights 🙂
Kim and I went Over the Edge for Girls Inc. which was equally terrifying and amazing!
We also celebrated our 12th (partnership) and 3rd (wedding) Anniversaries this summer, capped off by corresponding date nights during which we laughed our asses off at Trae Crowder (and the other two guys, too) and enjoyed the mellow inspiration of Jack Johnson, who I’ve been itching to see for 17 years!
And, miracle of all miracles, we enjoyed our first real family vacation in eight years (yes, eight years) on the beaches and sights of San Diego and soaking up the madness…er…magic of Disney Land.
And so, with our hearts full and our hopes refreshed, we’re sliding into Autumn with our heads up and our dreams not only on the horizon, but truly happening all around us.
One step at a time, as exhausted as this farm life can be, we’re renewed in the faith that we are absolutely on the right path and exactly where we need to be.
Do tell. . . How did your summer shape up? Have you been kind to yourself? Chased any dreams? Taken a billion selfies? Seen a good concert or two?
Wishing you a lovely September and gentle slide into Autumn, my friends!
xoxo,
M
Another great and helpful article. Keep it up! Thanks 🙂
I’m glad you found time in your whirlwind of activity to write this post. I’ve enjoyed catching up with your farm news – the harvest displayed on your market stall looks wonderful. It’s been a good year for fruit in Britain too with deep rooted trees drawing on underground water supplies despite low rainfall. (The first row of apple trees in my new orchard, planted 18 months ago, has been weighed down with fruit) Your piece in the Drought Diaries makes interesting reading, helping to explain the complicated systems of water management that have kept small farms in your region productive through all but the worst droughts. Water is a precious resource that is all too easy to take for granted.
Hi Judith! Thank you so much for reading! It felt nice to put my thoughts down again 🙂 So glad to hear it’s been a good fruit year in your neck of the woods as well! We’ll take every bite we can get in these uncertain times <3
It is actually September already, although that somewhat shocks me, too.